Environmental Science Water Quality Project

Is The Columbia River at Marine Parka safe place to play in the water?

The Columbia River

The largest river in the PNW, 4th largest in the U.S.

1,243 miles longIt is a seventh order stream It is central to our region’s economy and

culture, and has been for centuries14 dams provide hydroelectric power to the

region

Watershed=258,000 sq.miles

My Testing SiteMarine Park - Lewis and Clark expedition camped

here on March 30, 1806. - Now it’s a 26 acre community park with

a boat ramp, play area, picnic tables, and walking trails.

- Diverse wildlife population, supporting several species of water fowl, including bald eagles, osprey, herons, and Canadian geese.

Marine Park

Testing Results

Trial #1, July 10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 60

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Air Temperature

Series1

Cels

ius

Trial #1, July 10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 618.4

18.6

18.8

19

19.2

19.4

19.6

19.8

20

20.2

Water Temperature

Series1

Cels

ius

Trial #1, July 10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 60

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

pH

Series1

Part

s per

mil

lion

Trial #1, July 10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 60

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

Phosphate

Series1

PP

M

Trial #1, July 10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 60

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Nitrate

Series1

PP

M

Trial #1, July 10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 685%

86%

87%

88%

89%

Dissolved Oxygen

Series1

%

satu

rati

on

Trial#1, July10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 60

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Turbidity

Series1

JTU

Trial#1, July10 Trial #2, July 17 Trial#3, July 24 Trial#4, July 31 Trial#5, August 60

50

100

150

200

250

Water Outflow

Series1

Feet

Macroinvertabrates

Macro Count

Common Name Count Tolerance

midge 6 T

clam 9 T

mite 2 M

Total 17

Results# of sensitive organisms x3= 0# of moderately sensitive organisms x2= 2# of tolerant organisms x1= 15 Total= 17Poor – 0-10Fair – 11-16Good – 17-22 Excellent – 23-35

Is the Columbia River safe for human contact? According to my results, YES!The pH, phosphate, nitrate, dissolved oxygen,

turbidity, and coliform bacteria all point to a healthy aquatic

environment.

Works CitedWatershed map, pg 2

http://www.lrf.org/AboutLR/images/Operations-ColBasinMap.gif

Bufford, Judy. Benthic Macroinvertabrates Presentation; 31, July 2010.

 Marine Park History http://www.experiencewa.com/attraction.aspx?id=273

 Map- http://www.aldercreek.com/images/Col_paddle_guide/West_overview.jpg